: Practice Management
Free Email Accounts: Surefire Ethics Violation for Lawyers
Audio version available - Filed Under: Member Benefits, Practice Management
The last time I checked, 986 practicing lawyers in Alabama have an “@gmail.com” address registered with the bar and published in the bar’s online database as their office email address. Many more…
Read MoreDoes Your Firm Need Cybersecurity Insurance?
Audio version available - Filed Under: Member Benefits, Practice Management
As seems to be happening more and more frequently, my credit card company recently cancelled my current card and sent me one with a new number because the old one had been compromised in a data breach. Hackers had gained access to the computer system of one of the merchants I charged something with and, suddenly, my account number was out in the wild and available for sale to the highest bidder.
In this case, it’s just an annoyance; I’ll have to update my information with a couple of online vendors and memorize a new set of numbers, but at the rate I charge things that won’t take long. I’m not out anything and neither is the credit card company. The merchant, on the other hand, has, to put it politely, more than a little egg on its face. I’ll have to think twice before I buy anything there again.
This incident, the second one I’ve experienced in three years, points up how prevalent hacking into what are supposed to be secure computer networks has become. Law firms should not assume that they and the confidential information their networks house are not already targets, too. In some instances confidential legal information can be equally as valuable, to the right purchaser, as a large block of credit card numbers.
Although Alabama currently remains one of only 4 states which does not have a law requiring notification in the event of a loss or theft of personal information, there are lots of good reasons why lawyers in Alabama should tighten up security for their computer networks and consider obtaining cybersecurity insurance to protect themselves in the event that their computers are lost or stolen or their computer networks are breached.
Formal Ethics Opinion on BP Claims Issued
Audio version available - Filed Under: Practice Management
Most of us would like to forget the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill, and all of the damage done to the Gulf of Mexico as a result. Unfortunately, the claims process…
Read MoreLegal Expo Prize Winners Announced
Audio version available - Filed Under: Practice Management
Feeling lucky? Check in on the Announcements page to see the names of the Legal Expo door prize winners. If you are one of the winners, please visit the booth of the…
Read MoreVLP Honors 2013 Pro Bono Award Winners
Audio version available - Filed Under: Practice Management
The Sky Lounge was fragrant with the smell of blackened shrimp and Baldwin County grits and filled to overflowing with lawyers, their families and guests attending the 17th Annual Volunteer Lawyers Program…
Read MoreAnnual Meeting Schedule Available
Audio version available - Filed Under: Practice Management
The Annual Meeting & Legal Expo 2013 is almost here and things will be getting started down at The Grand Hotel in beautiful Point Clear on Wednesday afternoon of next week. Refreshments…
Read MoreA Tsunami of Email? Filter to Survive!
Audio version available - Filed Under: Practice Management
As a member of the Alabama State Bar, I receive all of the broadcast email messages that you, our members, do. While we try very hard not to send too many –
Read MoreHas Decomposition Set In?
Audio version available - Filed Under: Practice Management
No, this is not a joke about how long it’s been since I’ve posted regularly to this blog! When I think of decomposition my thoughts generally turn, at best, to organic backyard…
Read MoreCasemaker Mobile Apps Now Available
Audio version available - Filed Under: Practice Management
If you’ve been enjoying Casemaker, the free legal research service which is a benefit of Alabama State Bar membership, you’ll be glad to know that apps for your mobile devices are now…
Read MoreWhy Would You Want to Rent Microsoft Office?
Audio version available - Filed Under: Practice Management
I recently did a presentation on technology trends in legal practice management, and one of the new products now coming over the horizon that I gave a mention to was Microsoft Office…
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